Molecular Detection and VP2 Characterization of Feline and Canine Parvoviruses in Domestic Cats in Central Vietnam

In this study, 269 fecal specimens were sampled from domestic cats displaying symptomatic and asymptomatic individuals in Daklak and Gialai provinces in Central Vietnam during July 2023 to July 2025. The polymerase chain reaction method was applied to determine the feline parvovirus DNA in the obtained samples. Positive samples were randomly chosen for full-length VP2 gene sequencing using the Sanger method. The feline parvovirus DNA was detected in 25 (9.29%) of 269 samples. The viral DNA-positive rate was 17.65% (15/85) from cats aged below 6 months, significantly higher than that from 6–12- and >12-month-old cats. Seven complete VP2 sequences were successfully obtained from the identified strains, exhibiting a high degree of nucleotide identity (98.23–100%). Comparison to that of other sequences retrieved from GenBank indicated that seven current Vietnamese sequences displayed the highest nucleotide identity was from 99.08 to 99.94 with that of viral strains from China, Italy, and Spain. Phylogenetic analysis constructed using the complete VP2 gene sequences indicated that six Vietnamese sequences obtained belonged to feline panleukopenia virus (FPV) lineage and divided into several clusters, which were closely related to viruses from China, Italy, and Spain. The remaining one sequence was defined as canine parvovirus (CPV) which was genetically related to previous Vietnamese CPV-2c and Chinese strains. Twenty-six negative selection sites were detected in the VP2 protein of the current Vietnamese FPV/CPV strains in this study.